Max Scherzer Ties MLB Record With 20 Strikeouts in a 9-Inning Game
The Detroit Tigers saw themselves at the wrong end of a historic night against the Washington Nationals when veteran right-hander Max Scherzer tied the MLB record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game. The Nationals, led by the 2013 American League Cy Young Award recipient, won the regular season game, 3-2.
Quite interestingly, Scherzer is a former pitcher for the Tigers, who last played for the team two seasons ago before joining the Nationals. He left the Tigers as a free agent in the hope of finding a more lucrative and long-term contract from other teams. He quickly got what he want when the Nationals offered him a $210-million contract for seven years. His time with the Tigers was successful, where won the AL Cy Young Award back in 2013.
Wednesday night's performance was one for the ages, in a game where he joined the likes of Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, and Randy Johnson as the only players to strike out 20 batters, per report from MLB.com.
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Even Scherzer himself was impressed by his own performance. "Tonight, at the end of the night, was a special night… the strikeouts are sexy. And to be able to punch out 20 – it's sexy," he said.
The six-hit complete game win against the Tigers also surpassed Scherzer's previous career high of 17 strikeouts during his debut season with Washington last year, according to USA Today. He wasn't paying close attention to his numbers until he figured out in the eighth inning that he already was at 18. "That was the first time I heard the number, so I knew I had a shot at going out for the ninth and 20," he said. And obviously he did just that.
His team already had the lead, 3-1 entering the last inning, with him already exceeding his career high in strikeouts. However, it was obvious he wanted to break the record of 20. J.D. Martinez scored on a solo homer that made the game a bit more interesting at 3-2. He eventually tied the record by striking out Miguel Cabrera and Justin Upton.
The Tigers are still below .500 at 15-18 while the Nationals are on a roll as of late, with the win over Detroit pushing their record to 21-13 early in the season.
